Artificial fishing lures of various types are well known in the art. A common type of fishing lure employs a spoon-like body to which is secured a hook. Lures of this type generally incorporate one or more projections forward of the hook to prevent the hook from entangling in submerged plant life. These projections are generally termed "weed guards".
Spoon-shaped lures are attached to the fishing line and pulled through the water with the spoon assuming a generally horizontal position in the water. The spoon is fabricated of a highly polished metal or is brightly painted to attract fish. The spoon should have a shape which imparts a wobbling movement about the longitudinal axis. Further, the spoon shape is generally designed to insure that the spoon will not tend to rise to the surface at higher trolling speeds. In some instances, an additional fish attractant in the form of a plastic worm may be secured to the hook of the spoon to serve as an additional lure to fish.
Various spoons of this general type may be found in the prior art. The early patent to Pflueger, U.S. Pat. No. 1,992,766, shows a lure of this general type which discloses an improved means for attaching or securing a hook to the frame or body of the spoon. Topper, U.S. Pat. No. 2,167,163, shows a spoon configuration having a forwardly inclined nose portion that has a concave upper surface for maintaining the spoon at a substantially uniform depth below the surface. U.S. Pat. No. 2,619,764 to Mellin shows an improved means of detachably securing the hook to the body of the spoon. Other relevant patents include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,519,338; 2,567,813; 2,895,252; 2,989,816; and 377,033.
While the foregoing patents represent various improvements to artificial fishing lures, these improvements often result in a lure which is not economical to manufacture or which assumes a motion which is not attractive to fish. The present invention provides a new form of artificial fishing lure which is attractive to fish and which is simple and economical to manufacture. The lure of the present invention also is configured to minimize the possibility of entanglement is submerged plant life.